1

Our houses are terribly fouled up. The law is not worth
a damn. There must be a tenfold more preciseand fuller
indication of the persons,responsible (not one, but many,
one after another), and remorseless incarceration.

Written between August 8 and 11, 1921

First published in 1945 in Lenin Miscellany XXXV

Printed from the original

2

2) apart from them, the responsibility shall also fall on
a control commission consisting of tenants. There must be
such a commission. At least three persons, who should
always be available, or their deputies.

3) All these persons shall be subject both to legal and
to administrative responsibility.

3

3) it shall be the duty of the manager and his deputy
and the control commission to see that a responsible person
(either the manager himself or his deputy or a member
of the control commission) is on duty daily

apart from specially employed persons (yard-keeper, etc.)
where such are employed;

Notes

[1]These notes were written by Lenin in connection with the
regulations “On House Management”, adopted by the Narrow C.P.C.
on August 8, 1921, which made the house manager most
responsible for the good repair of housing facilities. On August 12 and
22, 1921, the Narrow C.P.C. examined the question of
elaborating the additional measures proposed by Lenin to enhance
responsibility for the maintenance of houses in good repair.